Romain Gaillard’s Twisted Path to Green Beauty Retail

When Romain Gaillard opened his first Detox Market, it cost $4,000. He built out shelving with used crates — $1.50 each — and trained the sales staff about each of the products. But he forgot to put price tags on them — oops. Gaillard first became interested in green beauty when a friend of his got breast cancer. “She’s the first one who educated me about toxicity in your life — in the air, in the food, in what you drink, but also personal care,” said Gaillard, chief executive officer of The Detox Market. The unregulated nature of the industry was foreign to him — he grew up in France — but he found a new generation of brands that were “doing the right thing” and focusing on good ingredients. “I can tell you today that green beauty’s at a tipping point, but 10 years ago it was a very different story,” Gaillard said. The first store opened in Venice, Calif., with an “eco-chic” design. It became a community — people would come to the store and hang out. “No one was buying anything really,” Gaillard said. “We were trying to learn how to be a retailer, but really, we had no idea what

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